Friday, December 10, 2010

I hate beer writers

"I hate beer writers," he said. "You can ask them; they hate me, too. They call me arrogant and opinionated. They think I'm a real asshole. But, hey, what can you expect? I was trained as a lawyer."

By doing little more than parroting the marketing-speak of advertising companies, Dan believes American beer writers are largely to blame for an industry and drinking public that's more taken with gimmickry than artistry. "The attitude seems to be, 'It's all good.' No one's willing to criticize a beer they don't like, and when I do, I'm told I'm just trying to sell the beers I import. I've had fights with beer reviewers who want to believe that you can't be objective about beer. It's all subjective, they say. You like what you like."

If that were true, he pointed out, why would anyone bother to review anything? If there wasn't consensus in the wine world, say, how could a wine dealer get away with selling a $100 bottle of wine? "If everything's great, then nothing's great," he said.